MANILA, Philippines — Newly-installed Speaker Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco has expressed hopes for a peaceful transition of the House leadership after 186 lawmakers “elected” him Monday to take the helm of the lower legislative body.
In a speech delivered following his election, Velasco said he hopes incumbent Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano “would be amenable to sit down with me” as they abide by the speakership term-sharing deal they forged before President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019.
“With this compelling proof that has installed me as Speaker of the House, I would like to extend my hand to Speaker [Alan Peter] Cayetano and hope that he would be amenable to sit down with me as we comply with the term-sharing agreement for a peaceful transition for the benefit of our members and the country,” Velasco said.
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Velasco said that under his leadership, the House will pass laws that are responsive to the needs of Filipinos here and abroad as well as legislation focused on job generation, the economy, healthcare, food on the table, peace and order, and clean sustainable energy.
“And most of all, today’s events would ensure that the President’s call for a timely, legal and constitutional approval of the 2021 budget will be complied with,” he also assured.
During a session held at the Celebrity Sports Complex in Quezon City, 186 lawmakers voted to oust Cayetano as top House leader and elect Velasco – true to the term-sharing agreement brokered by no less than the President last year.
“Higit sa lahat, ako’y nagpapasalamat sa ating mahal na Pangulo. A man of his word, may isang salita. Sa mabuting halimbawa and for inspiring young government servants like me na hindi hadlang ang pagiging probinsyano para tayo ay makapagserbisyo,” Velasco said.
“That a young probinsyano congressman from a small province like Marinduque can be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, this can only happen in the age of Duterte when anything is possible for the benefit of the Filipino people,” he added.
It was Buhay Partylist Rep. Lito Atienza, who has been vocal amid the speakership row, who moved to declare the Speaker’s post vacant, the first step to essentially unseat Cayetano.
After his motion was seconded, nominal voting on the motion resulted in 186 lawmakers voting on the affirmative, thus making the Speaker’s position vacant.
Velasco was consequently nominated for the post led by a number of lawmakers, including Reps. Mikee Romero, Doy Leachon, Jack Duavit, Kristine Singson-Meehan, and Kiko Benitez, among others.
It is, however, still unclear whether the move to elect Velasco was legal.
Earlier in the day, Deputy Speaker Neptali Gonzales II said that the gathering of Velasco supporters is a “rump and illegal session” where the rules of the House will not apply.
Gonzales argued that the House session is suspended until November 16 and that there is no authority from the plenary for the lower chamber to reconvene on Monday, October 12.